Confusion Over How to Seek Blessings for Someone to Prevent the Evil Eye

24 August, 2015

Question

In one of your videos, you advised people to say Tabārak Allāh, or to say Mā shā' Allāh, in order to avoid giving someone the evil eye. Other speakers have said that this is incorrect, and that you should say: Bārak Allāhu feek, or Allāhumma Bārik lahu. Which is correct?

Answer

The video that the questioner is referring to is an old video, which is unedited. In the early years of speaking, I did not used to take control of the videos that were made, and I used to allow the various masaajid and centres to post the video on their own accounts, without prior checking. It is only in the last year or so that I have been more cautious, and requested that I watch all videos prior to public release.

With regard to the hadeeth mentioned, there is no doubt that the most apparent meaning is to say:

Directly to the person about themselves: Bārak Allāhu feek

About the person themselves: Allāhumma Bārik lahu, or something similar.

Directly to the person about something that they have: Bārak Allāhu laka feehi, or something similar.

About the person with regarding to something they have: Allāhumma Bārik lahu feehi, or something similar.

This is the safest method, and the method which is most apparent from the wording of the hadeeth. I corrected this a long time ago, in the notes on the evil eye, and the lectures which are based on those notes.

However, there remains one point to mention, and that is that many of the scholars said that it is enough to mention Allāh in any such way that indicates that blessings come from Him. Among the evidence which they quoted for this is the aayah in al-Kahf.

Therefore, I think that for someone to say with certainty that it is not enough to say Mā shā' Allāh is wrong, and that the summary of the matter is that if a person mentions Allāh, then this is sufficient to ward off the evil eye; however, the more complete and better way is not only to mention Allāh, but to seek blessings for the person as well.